Interesting synopsis, VK. Thanks. I did not see that on CNN, but I will look for it now. CNN sometimes repeats things.

I have to admit that you sent me scurrying to Google when I saw Michael Milken's name. I thought, "Are we talking about Michael Milken, racketeer?" Yes, I know he is a financial genius. And when I looked at his website and quickly glanced through his biography, I saw no mention of that incident from his past. Did I just miss it on my quick read or was history rewritten a little? But I suspect that I really am living in an Orwell novel.

About Big Pharma, I could weigh in on that one from a couple of different angles. Big Pharma has buttered my bread and so it could be seen as ironic that I think the way I think about what Big Pharma has been up to. (And I just bought a little jnj.)

But about those drug prices........

Remember when we used to save our receipts and send them in to our insurance companies. We paid for our prescriptions up front. No big deal.

And then.......

Enter the little card. So convenient. Slap it down on the counter and pay the co-pay. No pesky receipts in a shoebox. No envelopes and stamps and trips to the post office necessary. How convenient???? That's all consumers cared about. Convenience.

Remember the Trojan Horse. The drug card was a Trojan Horse. We were slaughtered in our sleep after we passed out from the celebration of the convenience of not spending our "own" money up front. The prices went up and up and we did not pay attention and we did not know. No reason to know or even think about it. We had our little cards and our co-pays. We had consumer convenience.

I want to see affordable access to health insurance for Americans. I do not want socialized medicine.

Why can't they just take baby steps. Allow those who want or need to retire before age 65 to BUY in early to Medicare when they have no access to good affordable plans. That would not only save on the costs of stress related illness but would open jobs for younger people. Seems like a good step to me. Maybe because I know so many people who could benefit.

But they just can't seem to take it a step at a time. It is a quagmire. And both sides of the aisle are up to their ears in lobbyists.

Anyway, I will look for this program to be repeated on CNN. But I will probably end up yelling at the television like I used to yell at Alan Greenspan when he started giving money away.

Boomer

And btw, I heard a book title the other day, "It Takes a Pillage." I know nothing about the book. I just thought the title was right on the money.